


If I Didn’t Have You

by JustAnotherNerd1820



Category: Pitch Perfect, bechloe - Fandom
Genre: Barden university, F/F, F/M, Jesse is kind of a jerk, Like always I don’t have any real idea where this is going, Music, Nobody Dies, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25961086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherNerd1820/pseuds/JustAnotherNerd1820
Summary: Beca wakes up every day to a soundtrack she and her Soulmate put together. Beca doesn’t know who her Soulmate is, just that they have a rather annoying affinity for Ace of Base. Beca goes to college and finds out who her Soulmate is, though not at first. Slow burn, kind of.
Relationships: Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 11
Kudos: 63





	1. At the End of the Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We’re introduced to Beca and Jesse in their final days of college. They’re not Soulmates, despite what Jesse wishes. And as we all know, wishes can be dangerous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own any of these characters or places.

Beca groaned as _I saw the sign_ began to play again in her head.  
Jesse glanced over, "he listening to that song again?"  
Nodding, Beca turned back to her math book. _Ten more minutes,_ she told herself, glancing at her watch. The music always stopped by seven. Well, at least the infernal Ace of Base music. Usually mellow music or party music played after. Sometimes, Beca got to hear her Soulmate singing. She was pretty sure her Soulmate was a girl. She didn't tell Jesse this though. He wanted so badly to be her Soulmate. She wasn't though, and knew how much he resented that fact.  
"Why don't you drown out his music?"  
"That's not how it works, you know that." Beca and her Soulmate had finally reached an agreement of sorts. It'd taken a while, but they figured it out. Her Soulmate got five to seven everyday and Beca didn't interfere. Meanwhile, Beca got the midnight hours and her Soulmate, the early morning times. Beca didn't mind. The only time she really slept was when her Soulmate's music nursed her brain to sleep.  
"Remind me again why you still haven't figured out who they are?" Jesse asked teasingly. But his annoyance is clear in the undertones of his voice.  
“You know Jesse, it has to happen naturally. Soulmates can’t cheat the system.”  
Jesse wrinkled his nose at her-Beca wasn’t sure if he was teasing her or frustrated-and then licked his lips. “God I’d kill for a cheeseburger.”  
“Are they eating again?”  
Jesse’s Soulmate and him shared tastebuds. Anything he ate, they ate, and anything Jesse’s Soulmate ate, so did Jesse.  
“Yeah. But they never eat any good food. It’s always vegetables and Chinese food.”  
“Maybe they rely on you to eat all the fast food,” Beca joked, but the slightly murderous glint in Jesse’s eyes made her begin to pack up. She was done anyway.  
“Hey, I haven’t eaten any junk food since last week. You know how much I’m trying with my abs!” He lifted his shirt to reveal a slight ripple of fat, but nothing exorbitant.  
Beca laughed, and pulled her bag over her shoulder. “I’m going home. Good luck on your final tomorrow.”  
Jesse stood too. “I’ll walk you home.”  
It wasn’t a question.  
They left the library in silence. Jesse walked in front of Beca, as if he was leading her to his house. When they got there, Jesse leaned over and kissed the top of Beca’s head.  
“Goodnight.”  
Beca pulled away. “I’m sorry, what are you doing?”  
“Kissing you.”  
“No. Jesse. No.”  
“Why not? Please. Why not?”  
“Jesse, you know why.”  
Jesse sighed. “I suppose I do. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tempt you.” He pulled her in, kissing her fully on the lips. “I love you Beca Mitchell,” he murmured.  
Beca squirmed viciously, trying to get away. “Jesse! Stop! Stop!”  
He let her go. “Have I tempted you?”  
“No. Jesse. Leave me alone.”  
He opened his mouth to reply, but Beca had already rushed into her house, and bolted the door behind her.  
Inside, the emptiness was waiting for her. She checked the refrigerator. Sheila still hadn’t gone shopping. Beca hadn’t even entertained the idea that her dad might have.  
She pulled out the last TV Dinner from the freezer. It was chicken, green beans, and rice. Her least favorite.  
As it microwaved, Beca put away her bags. She glanced longingly at her music set. But she forced herself to look elsewhere. _One more day,_ she thought. _One more day and then you can mess around on it as much as you want._  
Her father had taken away her music privileges until after finals. She hated when he did that-pretended to care. He didn’t, not really. The only reason he got her a free ride to Barden was because he was a professor there. That and the essay she wrote. She honestly could have done better, but didn’t care enough to try harder.  
The microwave beeped, and Beca removed her meal. She ate it standing at the island. It was eight thirty by the time she was done, and still _I saw the sign,_ throbbed in her head. If she hadn’t liked hearing her Soulmate’s voice so much, Beca would have tried to override their music. Not that it was possible (the music would clash, sometimes it would go silent, other times it would simply ignore one of the person’s music and play only one track.  
Beca put her head on the cool granite of the table. The music faded, and Beca rejoiced. She waited for more music to start, slight upbeat bounces, pop. Beca shuddered. She didn’t like pop. She preferred Queen and Broadway. An odd mix, but her Soulmate didn’t mind.  
When her brain was not barraged with wrong notes and voices, Beca began to relax. She pulled on her own headphones. Let her music play as she cleaned up. She could almost feel her Soulmate relaxing too. She couldn’t hear the door open.  
“Beca?”  
Beca was oblivious.  
“Beca?” he repeated, louder this time.  
Beca swore under her breath. She heard him this time. “In the kitchen dad.” She didn’t want to see him.  
“Beca?” she heard, except it was a woman’s voice.  
Sheila.  
“Hello Sheila.” Beca tried to infuse her statement with as much sarcasm and contempt as she could.  
“We brought dinner Beca,” her dad yelled from the hallway.  
“I already ate dad!” She didn’t want anything that witch had helped pick out anyway.  
“You could at least sit with us Beca,” chimed Sheila.  
“I’m going to turn in early, I think.”  
“Well, goodnight then Beca.”  
“Goodnight.” Beca had no intention of sleeping, she just didn’t want to see her father and Sheila. It disgusted her. He had a Soulmate. But when her mother turned to drugs, Beca’s father abandoned her. Let her go. He moved on.  
Beca hated him for that. She hated Sheila for moving in on her father while he was vulnerable. Sheila’s Soulmate had died years ago, and she had obviously forgotten what it had been like. To be with someone you were meant to be with.  
Someone who loved you impossibly. Someone who you could trust. Someone who you loved.  
Beca had never really loved anyone. That’s why she clung to her hope of a Soulmate. That’s why she knew if she could just get to L.A. she could find her partner. Her Soulmate. She didn’t have a plan, but she’d make one once she got to Los Angeles. She’d find her Soulmate.  
She had to.


	2. What Comes Next?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca goes to brunch with her father and Sheila. It goes about as well as you’d expect, and we get a better look at Barden life, in which, Kimmy Jin appears to have no vocal chords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own any of these characters or places.

Finals were over, and Beca had succeeded in avoiding Jesse all week. Graduation had come and gone, and Beca was just happy that she wasn’t listening to Ace of Base anymore. It had been three years, and each year the song had gotten more and more annoying. Beca seriously hoped her Soulmate dropped whatever club forced her to listen to that song for hours on end. Although, she didn’t mind the other songs she got to hear-warmups she supposed.  
“Beca! Get up! Sheila’s here to take us to brunch!”  
Groaning, Beca rolled out of bed. She didn’t like Sheila, but at this point she was the sole provider of food, so Beca shut her mouth and went with it.  
“Beca?”  
“I’m coming dad.”  
Beca threw on a pair of leggings and a tank top, wrapping a flannel around herself on the way out. Her father frowned.  
“Couldn’t you wear something a little nicer?” He was wearing a suit.  
Beca pretended to entertain the notion. “No.” She grabbed the keys and got into the driver’s seat of the car. She knew she was being bratty, but didn’t care. Her father didn’t. Not really. Not enough.  
The drive was quiet. Beca had always been uncomfortable without some sort of noise-a backing track. Luckily, her Soulmate had taken care of that when they were both thirteen. Beca had originally thought she had schizophrenia, but when she was only hearing songs, she dismissed the idea. Her Soulmate. Finally, someone who would understand her. Be with her.  
Love her the way she needed to be loved.  
Her father got out of the car first, meeting Sheila at the door to the restaurant.  
“Sheila! It’s so nice to see you!”  
“Yeah, because it’s been so long,” murmured Beca.  
“Beca,” warned her father.  
“Sorry.” She wasn’t sorry.  
Her father sighed and moved on. “Sheila, it was so nice of you to invite us. Breakfast is Beca’s favorite meal.” He smiled, and Beca tried to copy him.  
She probably just looked like an idiot.  
“Well Beca! This is the place for you!” Sheila chirped.  
Beca raised her eyebrows.  
“They have all sorts of options,” Sheila continued, oblivious to Beca’s implicit sarcasm. “Fruit and smoothies. They have pancakes and waffles too, but those are so fattening.”  
Pancakes happened to be Beca’s favorite, but she didn’t say anything. She focused on hating Sheila.  
“Let’s go eat!” cried her father, and he led them in.  
Their booth was too small for Beca’s liking, sitting across from her father and Sheila smushed together.  
“So Beca, where are you going to college?”  
Of course she brings up college. Beca didn’t like talking about college. She didn’t like talking at all. She honestly wished Sheila would just leave her alone.  
“Oh, um, yeah. I’m going to Barden. It’s not far.”  
“Oh, where your father works! Yes, the campus is so pretty. In the spring, all the students study on the grass…”  
Inwardly, Beca groaned. It was the same thing her dad said. “Yes. It’s the same campus where dad works.”  
The waiter arrived, and they ordered. Sheila ordered a fruit bowl. Beca got pancakes.  
Her father and Sheila talked for the rest of the meal, and Beca managed to stay out of the conversation.  
Until the end.  
“So, Beca, I hear you want to go into music.”  
Beca filled her mouth with her last bite of syrup drenched pancake, trying to figure out how to answer without answering.  
“Yes. I like to make music. I plan to move to L.A. after college.”  
“How nice! And have you thought about finding your Soulmate?”  
Beca flushed. She didn’t want to talk about her Soulmate with Sheila.  
“Yes. I hope to figure out how to find them when in Los Angeles.”  
Sheila smiled and nodded, clearly doubtful of Beca’s plan. Then she turned back to Beca’s father and continued to talk to him.  
Beca didn’t care.  
When they finally left, Beca locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. Sheila was right, she didn’t have a plan. She just hoped that her Soulmate would show up. They would, that’s the way Soulmates worked. But Beca didn’t know when they would. She hoped it was soon. Even though she wouldn’t admit it to herself, she was lonely with only her and her headphones. Her Soulmate didn’t play music quite as often, now that school had ended. Only muffled dance tunes and pop songs on scattered evenings.  
Beca didn’t mind, but it didn’t change the fact that she longed for them more than anything.  
***  
When her move-in day arrived, her father insisted on helping her get her things in order. All the boxes and music sets. Beca refused to let him touch any of her kits. Then they went home and ate dinner with Sheila.  
The next day Beca went back to campus. To stay this time. Her father had said he would take her. Beca didn’t want to go with him. She took a cab. Her final bags in the trunk, she didn’t want to go back to that house unless she had to.  
Then Jesse showed up. Singing, in the back of his car, his parents smiling happily in the front. And in that instant, Beca hated him. Hated all that he had, and all that he could have but didn’t want.  
She pretended to be intrigued by him, smiling oddly yet sincere enough in nature, but all she wanted to do was slap him. Yell at him, _don’t you know what you have? What you could do? You could have a Soulmate, you could have everything!_  
She was relieved when his car drove away. She selfishly wished it would drive over a cliff. Not that there were any cliffs in Georgia, but she wished it would happen anyway.  
The girl seemed to have finished up, and was handing her a whistle- _a rape whistle?_ -and Beca put it right in her mouth. She didn’t trust Jesse, and frankly, she didn’t trust this girl either. As she made her way to her dorm, she stared around. College students were so much more interesting when you weren’t walking around with your dad who happens to be a professor at the same college.  
She let herself in the dorm room. A girl was adjusting something on a very neat, very white side of the room.  
“Hi! I’m Beca, you must be Kimmy Jin.” Beca set her stuff on her bed. The girl didn’t answer. “No English?” The girl just stared. “Yes English? Just tell me where you’re at with English.”  
The girl didn’t respond, and Beca went back to her stuff. At least this girl was quiet. Then her dad walked in, and Beca needed to get away.  
Apparently Kimmy Jin could talk. Beca followed her to the Activities Fair, but was ditched as soon as Kimmy Jin found the Asian Students club.  
Beca wandered aimlessly, running into a weird girl- _Amy?_ -at the Deaf Jews station. Beca was pretty sure the girl wasn’t deaf or Jewish.  
One group did pique her interest. The Bellas. Some sort of a cappella group. They looked like they sang a lot of Mariah Carie. It wasn’t the group really, that made her more interested, but the girl. The redhead who was wearing that blue dress. And the tattoo. She had a bug tattoo just like Beca. For some reason, Beca was happier after that exchange than she’d been in weeks. But still, it was a cappella.  
So she pretended to be uninterested, and got a job at the radio station. She hoped Jesse wouldn’t try to follow her.


	3. Save the Last Dance for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a glimpse of Beca and Chloe’s blossoming relationship. Amy, as always, tries to play Matchmaker (cue Fiddler on the Roof) and we get a bit of a break from Jesse (that creep).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for reading, as always I don’t own any characters, which is too bad because I would have made Bechloe canon. Have a great day, and enjoy!

Beca joined the Bellas. Her father promised her he’d let her go to L.A. if she joined a club. So she did. They were the only group that didn’t seem totally nuts.  
The initiation made her think she was wrong. And she was pretty sure there was something going on with the redhead. _Chloe._ The name rolled off Beca’s tongue. _Chloe._  
Beca took a liking to her immediately. It wasn’t just the tattoo and the voice- _that voice_ -but also her personality. Chloe was the kind of person no one could help falling in love with.  
Beca’s Soulmate had been surprisingly quiet. She had a feeling that her Soulmate may have been a Bella alumni. All they ever sang was Ace of Base.  
But Chloe. Beca was drawn to Chloe, and she had a suspicion that there was supposed to be something between them.   
Amy noticed. That girl saw everything, and she wasn’t exactly quiet about it. She came up to Beca during a break in rehearsal.  
“You know Shawshank, you and redhead are cute together.”  
“I have a Soulmate,” grumbled Beca, scooting over on the bench so as to let Amy sit beside her. Currently her Soulmate was listening to the same Rihanna blasting through the speakers as she was, but she didn’t mention that.  
“Yeah, and it’s Chloe! You should go to her. Tell her. What’s your AU anyway?”  
Beca didn’t answer at first. She didn’t know how to broach the Soulmate thing with Chloe. Their relationship was so comfortable. So easy. “It’s music. The one where you hear what they’re listening to.”  
“So you know I’m right.”  
“But what if she isn’t Amy? What if she tells me no? Says that I’m stupid for thinking so. Tells me I’m not good enough for her?”  
Amy laughed so loud Cynthia-Rose looked over. “Beca, since when has Red ever said anything like that to anyone? Please. You know she’s the one for you.”  
Beca did know. Ever since the shower.

_“You can sing!”  
“Dude!”  
“How high does your belt go?”  
“My what? Oh my God!”  
“You were singing Titanium, right?”  
“You know David Guetta?”  
“Do I love under a rock? Yeah.” Chloe paused. “That song is my jam. My lady jam.” She winked.  
“Gross.”  
“Can you sing it for me?”  
“Dude! No! Get out!”  
“Not for that reason, I’m not leaving until you sing.”  
Beca didn't really know what to do. And her Soulmate was deafeningly silent. She knew. So she sang.  
“Bulletproof, nothing to lose.”  
Chloe joined, harmonizing perfectly, and her face lit up in a way that entranced Beca. The song finished, and Chloe grinned at Beca.  
The silence should have been uncomfortable-and it was-but it could’ve been so much worse.  
Chloe gave a small start, as if remembering something. She handed Beca a towel.  
“Still need shower,” muttered Beca.  
“Yeah.”  
A boy suddenly popped in the stall. “You have a lovely voice!”  
Chloe grinned, and Beca’s heart sank. Her Soulmate stayed silent. Beca wished with all her heart that they would start playing something. Anything. To confirm that they still existed. And to confirm they were still available.  
Waiting for her.  
“See you at auditions!”  
Beca left without showering._

“She has a boyfriend Amy!”  
“Nah, he’s just a friend with benefits. And barely even that. She told me.”  
“Why would she tell you?”  
Amy opened her mouth to respond, but Chloe interrupted. “Hey guys!”  
“Chloe!” Beca startled.  
“Beca. How are you?”  
“I’m okay. You?”  
“Oh, you know. Same old same old.”  
Amy jumped in. “Well, Beca here was just telling me all about her Soulmate.”  
“Ooh!” Chloe said, gently shoving Amy over so she had room to sit next to Beca. “What’s your AU?”  
Beca flushed. “It’s… it’s the music one. My Soulmate hears music. I hear music. Same time. You know the deal.”  
Chloe was nodding, smiling slightly. “That one’s mine too! I used to think it was kind of annoying, but I really like it now. What songs do you have to endure for hours on end?” She giggled as she said it, joking, but immediately Beca began to wonder about if she was Chloe’s Soulmate. _Did Chloe think her music annoying? Was she annoying? You are annoying. Shut up! Shut up!_  
“Beca? Beca? It’s Chloe. Come back. Come on, that’s it. Nice and easy. Come back.”  
Beca opened her eyes. Chloe was rubbing her back. “Sorry. I… I got lost for a moment.”  
Chloe nodded. “We all do sometimes.” She moved off the subject of Soulmates, chattering away the rest of break with Amy. Her hand never left Beca’s back.  
“Bellas! We have a lot of work to do! Come on down! Let’s get to it!”  
Amy clumsily made her way down the stairs as Chloe helped Beca up.  
“I can get up myself. It’s much easier than the stupid choreography,” muttered Beca.  
Chloe gave a small snort. “Yeah. But you’ve got it. You know the song really well though.”  
Beca laughed. “Yeah, well, my Soulmate enjoys this song a lot.”  
They began making their way down the stairs, girls straggling in from all sides.  
“Really? Huh. I thought the only person who enjoyed it was Aubrey.”  
“You don’t like it?”  
“God no. Please, this song is horrible. Aubrey’s made me listen to it so many times. The past three years have been torturous.”  
Beca’s heart skipped a beat. “You’ve been doing the same song for the past three years? I mean, I knew you did the song last year, but three years-going on four? That’s a long time with little change.”  
Chloe nodded, and added. “I feel bad for my Soulmate.” She winked at Beca, then skittered to the front to converse with Aubrey.  
Beca was frozen with wishes.


	4. I Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so happy ending (I promise) but first there’s triggers for rape/noncon. I’m sorry, but Jesse is a jerk and deserves to go to jail (at least in this story). Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Have a great day!

Jesse did follow her. He had toned himself down, which was nice, but Beca still distrusted him.   
The first day, they stacked C.D.s in relative silence, until Jesse broke the tension.  
 _“So what’s your deal? Are you one of those girls who’s all dark and mysterious, and then she takes off her glasses and that amazingly scary ear spike and you realize she was beautiful all along?”  
Beca rolled her eyes, a sudden burst of hatred boiling in her stomach. “I don’t wear glasses.”  
“Then you’re halfway there,” Jesse told her, sliding another C.D. into its slot._  
Beca ignored him as much as she could, but when he accosted her on the quad, she knew she had to let him in. So she sat with him as he prattled about movies, avoiding the essay she should have been writing.  
She wished Chloe was there.  
 _"You need a movie education. A movication. And I'm going to give it to you."  
"Yeah, in between Bellas rehearsals, which are always."  
"Are you guys getting ready for the riff off?"  
"What the hell is a riff off?"_  
She found Chloe later that day during break.  
"Chloe." Beca found herself pausing at the first syllable, inadvertently creating a pet name, a name of more closeness than the one she was using. She forced the "e" out.  
"Beca?" Chloe stepped over Stacie's legs stretched over the aisle, swiping away a chunk of hair that had fallen in her face.  
"Oh, yeah. Uh, I was just wondering what the hell a riff off is. Jesse mentioned it the other day…" Beca trailed off and almost missed the slight frown that fell on Chloe's face when Beca mentioned Jesse.  
"Oh totes. The riff off--"  
She was cut off by Aubrey. "All right ladies! Get your butts down here in ten seconds or I will personally kick them all!"  
"I'll tell you at next break," Chloe told Beca as they hurried to the floor from the stands.  
But the next break didn't come. Aubrey dismissed them after their final run through of Ace of Base once more. Chloe made to go after Beca, but Aubrey called her back. "Chloe!"  
Chloe turned back, and Beca almost waited. Almost.  
She didn't.  
She walked out.  
Jesse was waiting for her. "Kiss?"  
"Ew no, if you ever ask again, I will stop being your friend." She added, "creep," for good measure.  
"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "Let's go."  
"Where?"  
"Anywhere. Everywhere. We can do anything."  
"Well, sorry Mr. Doctor, but I have to study. So unless you have a blue police box to really take me anywhere, I have to go."  
"Since when have you cared about studying?"  
"Since my dad told me I could go to L.A. if I make it through this year."  
"Seriously dude? That's great!" He hugged her, smiling hard enough for the both of them. Just as Chloe walked out of the auditorium.  
"Bye Beca." There was just enough pain in her voice for Beca to know.  
"Chloe!"  
Chloe walked away. Beca glanced at Jesse, and made to go after the redhead. Jesse grabbed her arm. Hard.  
"Jesse!"  
"Come on, you know she's not your Soulmate. Please, you think you could ever get something that good?"  
"Jesse!" His words cut deep. Just because Beca thought them, repeating them to herself as she fell asleep, didn't mean it was any easier to hear from another's mouth.  
"Please. Don't tell me you didn't know. Have you even heard from your Soulmate recently?"  
Beca bit her lip. Little snatches of songs here and there, but never anything like she used to. _Was her Soulmate dying? Going deaf?_  
"Your Soulmate means nothing. You were meant to be with me."  
Beca couldn't do this. She couldn't. "Jesse. Please." She was on the verge of tears. "Don't. Please."  
He began to drag her across campus to his dorm. "Jesse! Stop!" She was practically screaming now. She wished she hadn't left her rape whistle at her dorm. Even though she didn't know what he was going to do, she still could've used it. Gotten someone's attention.  
"I may not be your Soulmate, Beca, but I am your oldest friend and you owe this to me."  
"I don't owe you anything," spat Beca. She spotted someone coming towards them. They appeared to be running.  
She wished they would come faster, Jesse's grip on her wrist was making her head throb.  
Wishes can be dangerous.  
The figure didn't get close enough. They didn't interfere.  
Jesse laughed in her face quietly. “I know what you thought. That they might have come for you. To help you. To save you. Where’s your precious Chloe now? She can’t save you. She’s not even your friend, let alone your Soulmate. I don’t understand why you won’t be my Soulmate.”  
He let go of her arm, and Beca positioned herself to run.  
“Why won’t you be my Soulmate?”  
“Jesse. You cannot possibly be asking me this now. You’ve just assaulted me. You’re cruel, lazy, and frankly, you’re not even cute. Why on earth would I want to spend my entire life with you?”  
Jesse slapped her. Beca didn’t flinch. He hit her again, and Beca made a move to run away. He grabbed her wrist. “No. You aren’t leaving me now.”  
Jesse dragged Beca into his dorm room, and tied her to his desk chair. His roommate was nowhere to be seen. Jesse slipped out the room for a moment with a sock, then came back in, shutting the door behind him.  
“What did you just do?” Beca had never been one to hold her tongue when angry, and she wasn’t about to stop now.  
“Now we can have ourselves some _privacy._ ” Jesse whispered the word and shivers crawled across Beca’s spine.  
“Jesse, please, please don’t do this.”  
“I have to. You’re my Soulmate!”  
“No I’m not you idiot!” Beca struggled as hard as she could against the bonds, but they were too tight for her to loosen even the slightest. She screamed, and Jesse shoved the other sock in her mouth.  
“Shut up! You’ll ruin this!” Jesse hastily tightened her bonds, and leaned his ear against the door. The hallway was silent. “Good, it’s not messed up yet.”  
Beca spat out the gag, and screamed again. “Help! Help me!”  
Jesse slapped her. “Beca please. I don’t know why you don’t want this.”  
“Oh yeah Jesse,” Beca retorted. “Take a wild guess. You’re a horrible person, and I don’t want to sleep with you! You’ve tied me to a chair, accosted me, and I’ve told you no! So many times! I don’t even like you!”  
Jesse’s face crumpled. “I… you… don’t mean that!”  
“Oh please! I only let you stay with me because I couldn’t get you to leave!”  
Footsteps sounded in the hall, unnoticed by either.  
“Jesse! I don’t want to be your friend! Find someone else! I’m friend zoning you so hard I’m kicking you out of it! You’re not my friend! Not my lover! And you never will be!”  
A knock on the door. “Excuse me?”  
Jesse swore, and slapped Beca. “This is your fault.”  
The voice came again, and Beca recognized it. _Chloe. My knight in shining armour. No she’s not. She’s not here for you. It might not even be her. Calm your pits Beca!_  
Jesse opened the door angrily. “What do you want?”  
It was Chloe. “Oh my God! Beca?”  
“What do you want?” Jesse spat. “Because I’m very busy here.”  
“Doing what? Torturing my girlfriend?”  
Beca flushed, and Jesse slapped her again.   
Chloe rushed into the room. “What are you doing! I can report you for abuse!”  
“Honey,” Jesse said in the most condescending tone Beca had ever heard crawl out of his mouth, “I can do whatever I like. You don’t matter to me.”  
Chloe ignored him, turning her attention to Beca. Jesse wasn’t dangerous.  
Not yet.  
“Beca, are you okay?” She began taking off the bindings, stripping the duct tape (and some wood) off of Jesse’s chair.  
“I… I think so.”  
Chloe was knocked aside by Jesse. He was holding a baseball bat. “You don’t matter Beca. No one cares about you. Your parents abandoned you. Your father wishes you didn’t exist.” Chloe was struggling to get up. “Beca, your mother is dead because of you. Your Soulmate is probably dead--you told me yourself they haven’t done much since you joined the Bellas.”  
Beca regretted telling Jesse that very, very much.  
“This is why you need me. Because I will be your Stand--in Soulmate. Almost your Soulmate, but only not in the sense that we aren’t connected naturally, or whatever the Soulmate motto is.”  
Chloe wrapped her arms around Jesse’s neck, and bit him, hard.  
“Ow! What’d you do that for bitch?” he cried.  
“Run Beca! Get help!”  
Beca froze, and in that moment, Jesse shook Chloe loose.  
“You’re not going anywhere. Neither of you.”  
Chloe screamed so loudly, Beca was sure someone had to have heard it. But no one came.  
Jesse hit Chloe again with the bat, knocking her unconscious this time, and turned back to Beca.  
“All right now. Let’s do this.”  
Another knock on the door.  
Jesse growled under his breath. “You’re not getting away with this.”  
He opened the door, and the police were there. There wasn’t much he could do to hide Beca, tied in a chair, clearly struggling, and Chloe, unconscious on the floor.  
“Hey,” Beca said, blood slipping out of her mouth from where she had bit her cheek when Jesse slapped her. “Could you please get him out of here?”  
***  
Chloe was fine, and Beca was grateful for that, but she couldn’t help but feel a shift in their relationship. Something changing, something deeper. It wasn’t awful, but it was scary, like a deep sea dive off the edge of an underwater cliff. She couldn’t seem to make herself get enough air when she was around Chloe, and it was never enough to simply be around her any more, Beca wanted to touch her, caress her, and feel their lips meet.  
Neither had mentioned what happened in Jesse’s dorm. It simply wasn’t brought up. Beca’s face puffed up and she avoided Bella’s for a week, but she knew she had to go back. Chloe had started texting her, "Becs, where are you? We miss you." Beca knew this was a blatant lie, but she couldn't help but taste a surge of happiness when she got a new text notification. The others texted her too, but not as much as Chloe.  
Beca went back to Bellas after a week. She hadn't talked to anyone--not even her father who still had no idea what had happened.  
"Beca!" Chloe cried the minute she walked in. Beca had to remind herself that she wasn't allowed to get attached. She wasn't allowed feelings or people or anything. She had L.A. in her future so long as she didn't mess it up, and then she would find her Soulmate. "I'm so glad you're back. God, Aubrey's been going crazy."  
"It's good to have you back, hobbit," muttered Aubrey as she walked by with a stack of sheet music and choreography.  
"Love you too Aubrey," Beca retorted, and Chloe grinned.  
"You sure you're alright Becs?" she whispered as Beca set her bag down.  
"I'm fine Chlo." Beca didn't even notice she cut off the name until after. "E. Chloe. I'm fine."  
Chloe smirked a little, and wrapped her arms around Beca. "Beca, you can call me Chlo if you want. I'm okay with it."  
 _I'm not,_ Beca wanted to say. _I'm not okay with it. I want so badly for you to be the one for me. I want so badly for you to say "I love you" as we dance in the living room._  
"Beca…"  
"Sorry, what?"  
"Beca, I know what kind of music you listen to."  
"What?" Beca had absolutely no idea where this conversation was going.  
Chloe hummed a note, and then began singing quietly.  
 _I threw a wish in a well, don't ask me I'll never tell, I looked to you as it fell and now you're in my way._  
The words reverberated in Beca's head. She could hear them before they came, knew the harmonies without trying.  
 _I'd trade my soul for a wish, pennies and dimes for a kiss. I wasn't looking for this, but now you're in my way._  
Beca knew the song, had played it so many times. It was a simple song, Chloe knew that. Beca knew that. She wished she didn't. She wished she did. She wished so many things. About Chloe, about herself, about her father and Sheila and the world. She bit back tears as she joined in, knowing the only way to truly know was to see if Chloe heard.  
 _Your stare was holding, ripped jeans skin was showing, hot night, wind was blowing, where d'you think you're going baby?_  
The confirmation flew across Chloe's face. Beca smiled, she was so happy. But also she was so sad. Chloe knew. Chloe understood. Two socks made a pair, but matching socks made it so much better.  
Chloe was her other sock.  
They didn't even finish singing before they kissed. Aubrey turned to see what the commotion was, and Amy and Cynthia--Rose exchanged money. Jessica and Ashley were making out in a corner, and all of the sudden, Beca knew she'd found her family. She didn't need her father. She had the Bellas.


End file.
